1985 Natural Lightning Study.
Abstract
The principal results of MRC's lightning research during 1985, including the collaborations with the Langmuir Laboratory of the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology and the Air Force Weapons Laboratory, Kirtland Air Force Base, are described. Lightning strikes at the Kiva Facility of the Langmuir Laboratory have been observed and analyzed. The optical emissions and radiated electromagnetic field have been compared with computer simulations. The agreement in generally good. This facility is unique in the world, providing simultaneous measurements of stroke current, brightness, and radiated fields. The major discovery has been that the initial return stroke velocity is approximately 0.9 c as opposed to average stroke velocities reported to be about 0.3 c. Keywords: Computations; luminosity; irradiance; Hydrodynamic modeling.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1986
- Accession Number
- ADA180099
Entities
People
- A. H. Paxton
- L. Baker
- R. L. Gardner